During a transaction (a payment or non-payment transaction) between two parties, each party typically wants to authenticate the identity and/or the data relating to the other party to avoid fraud.
Transactions initiated and conducted from a remote communication device can be riskier than face-to-face transactions, because conventional face-to-face authentication procedures cannot be performed. For example, it is not possible to check a picture on a consumer's driver's license when conducting a remote transaction.
In view of the foregoing, a system for authenticating the identity and profile data of an individual such as a consumer during a remote transaction would be desirable. The authenticating system would desirably be easy to implement and use, would require a minimal investment of resources, and would provide a high level of interoperability between the system's participants.
Another problem that is associated with transactions generally is that merchants often receive payment card information during purchase transactions. If a merchant is not honest, a consumer's payment information could be compromised. Other embodiments of the invention are directed to the use of alias identifiers to initiate transactions such as payment transactions so that merchants do not retain consumer payment information.
Embodiments of the invention solve the above problems and other problems individually and collectively.